Thank you, All. I was moonstruck last night, and felt as though I were born with the universe. I'm pretty sure George B. Shaw used 'snigger' in Pygmalion (certainly in My Fair Lady); so, I'm following the suggestion given as the two words are very close. 'Chocolate' never crossed my mind; and even now, my spellcheck is trying to kick out 'sniggers'. I guess I always thought 'snigger' was even meaner than 'snicker' which is mean enough as a covered laugh behind a hand, very derogatory. 'ashen' stays as the perfect word I want with all its connotations of sight, touch, taste and smell, plus the acidic residue of burning.

Lovely stuff Cynthia. I've never written a poem about the moon or read as many as John seems to have read about it either.
I love the way the moon is personified but your feelings are projected onto the moon. Night time is the time when the ghosts of all our problems haunt us; I think you communicate that sadness beautifully. xx

The moon, a dificult beast for the contemporary poet to play with...such an historic cliche...and yet, so evocative. Tonight's moon is extraordinary (have you seen it?) and yet...is just the billionth moon that has looked down upon us, and all that we are..

This reads to me like two and a half haikus...and it is wonderful.

It is a real gift and a real challenge to be able to wrest something 'more' from the moon.